Benjani Mwaruwari has completed his loan move from Manchester City to Sunderland after the Premier League ratified the transfer.

The deal for the Zimbabwe striker was initially held up after emails and faxes from Sunderland to the Football Association did not go through. The Premier League has investigated the technical problems and is satisfied that the club had tried to register the deal before yesterday's 5pm deadline.

The signing of the 31-year-old is a relief for Sunderland manager Steve Bruce, whose side have tumbled to 13th in the league after a bright start. "He's a big, strong, powerful centre-forward and one we've been tracking for a long time," said Bruce. "I'm delighted we've been able to bring him to the club, he'll bring another dimension to our striking options."

Benjani arrived in English football at Portsmouth in 2006 before being signed by former City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson for around £7.5m in 2008. However, with City's attack now boasting Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, his first-team opportunities have been severely restricted.

Sunderland, without a league win for two months, also sealed a loan deal for Tottenham defender Alan Hutton on deadline day.